> One part of this discussion has been over *IF* the bees in Arizona  are
> indeed capensis (raised by Allen Dick).  The focus should be on getting
rid
> of those bees which are showing the capensis  pseudo queen traits whether
> capensis or not.

Possibly, Bob, but I think there could be a huge legal problem here and that
legal problem may have something to do very directly with withdrawal of
funding and closing of bee labs.  Interestingly the one lab that is not
AFAIK in jeopardy is in what has been designated as AHB territory.

Most of the people involved are *very* careful what they say and prudently
stick to the facts -- and are also very careful not to stretch them.

What are the facts?  As far as I know, the facts are that bees are
constantly moved back and forth throughout the entire United States.  At
present, some unusual behaviours have been identified as part of a
phenomenon that we have known about all along.  That phenomenon is the
problem of maintaining 'European' queens in hives in most areas where 'AHB'
have moved in.  At one time the focus was on drone behaviour.  Now the focus
seems to have moved to unique racial pheromones, invasion episodes, and
laying worker activity.  All this is currently under study.   At present,
AFAIK, there is still a lot to learn about both 'EHB' and 'AHB' in that
regard and definite conclusions have not been drawn.

Obviously, since this phenomenon is not at all new in Central or North
America, it is not reasonable to perceive it as an immanent threat.  It may
be a nuisance and it may be a problem for those wishing to breed other
strains of bees than those favoured with these traits, but thelytoky in
particular may prove to be a beneficial trait that reduces the labour and
difficulty of some types of beekeeping.

As far as I know, no dwindling of hives taken over by 'AHB' in the USA has
been reported, although in the early stages of invasion in Central America
there were reports that colonies seldom achieved much size after being taken
over by AHB due to excessive swarming.   What I mostly heard in Central
Arizona was that the temper of the bees became unpredictable after takeover
by 'AHB'.  As one beekeeper told me in Central AZ, they had to move some
yards out and kill them after a period of time of AHB exposure.

What will happen after a period of adjustment between the migrating bees and
the 'EHB' that are currently favoured is difficult to say.  Perhaps the bees
will settle down and some selection will take place.  If Lusbys' experience
is indicative, I tend to think that the problems may be exaggerated, BUT, I
was only there once -- and in January -- so I can't claim expert status on
the problem by any means.

At any rate I am mostly concerned about BEE-L being used as a vehicle for
alarmist and provocative pronouncements, and I hope that discussion will
stick close to the facts, that more facts will be brought to light, and that
supporting information will also be contributed.

Since no one has provided anything other than hearsay to favour the capensis
conjecture -- in spite of several requests to do so -- and no one else will
go to the horse's mouth -- I have today written Dr. D-H to ask if she wishes
to confirm any of the charges made earlier on this list.

It will be interesting to see if she chooses to confirm these speculations,
or to ignore them.

allen